Tecumseh getting grants for cleanup, sewage plant projects

Tuesday

Nov 5, 2013 at 2:00 PM

By David FrownfelderDaily Telegram Staff Writer

A pair of grants from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality appear to be coming to Tecumseh.

A $220,000 brownfield redevelopment grant for the soon-to-be renovated building at 146 E. Chicago Blvd. for Salsaria’s Restaurant has been approved. City manager Kevin Welch said Monday the city has also been told its request for a grant to help with the blower project at the wastewater treatment plant was unofficially approved in the amount of $225,000.

The site reclamation grant for the Salsaria’s property, which formerly housed Ivy Frame and Gallery, will help pay for removal of a tetrachloroethylene chemical contamination found in a soil pile in the so-called Michigan basement and also in groundwater at the site.

The property was a dry-cleaning establishment before Ivy Frame and Gallery was there. Tetrachloroethylene is used in dry cleaning fabrics, among other uses.

Welch said the MDEQ has also approved a $20,000 loan that will serve as the local contribution for the project funding. City officials will meet with the developer, the MDEQ and and an environmental consultant later this month to map out the next steps for the project.

Salsaria’s, which has a location in Adrian, will be a full-service Mexican restaurant. Welch said the business expects to create seven to 10 full-time jobs with a minimum of $280,000 invested in the renovation.

As for the blower project, the city will replace four outdated blowers at the wastewater treatment plant with two new, energy-efficient models. Tetra Tech of Ann Arbor will do the work. The city will install two new blowers to replace the four outdated ones, but will have to pay for one out of its own funds, as MDEQ objected to paying for both.

Welch said an April 17 letter from Kurt Swendson, project manager from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, rejected the option. Swendson wrote the proposal was not “cost-effective.” The city had two options and chose to replace the four blowers with two more energy-efficient models.

The original cost of the work, he said, is estimated at $440,000. The forgiveable portion of the city’s loan from MDEQ is $225,000, with the city paying the remaining cost. No date has been set for the work.